Bring me to Life
by Keruri-chan
Summary: On a night when Vejiita is overcome with insomnia, he makes some startling discoveries--and hates what he has found. But the proud Saiya-jin prince must accept what he's realized and be grateful that he's been brought to life.


_Disclaimer: I don't own DragonBall Z or any of the characters, nor the song _Bring me to Life_, by Evanscence._

A/N: When it's quarter to one in the morning, I'm not tired, and there's nothing to do, I start downloading random songs. So that's what happened this morning when I downloaded the _Daredevil_ soundtrack, which is actually quite weird considering I've never seen the movie. As soon as I heard _Bring me to Life_ I was like, "VEGETA!!", which is also actually quite weird considering I don't watch the show anymore. So I found the lyrics on the Internet and typed this (see below =P). I guess the idea is a bit over-done, but I don't care. I was bored and I felt like writing, and to me that's all that counts. So NYAH! Flame, review, or don't. I don't care. 

Hoo-hah!

* * *

_Bring me to Life_

The night had come and gone, but Vejiita had yet to close his eyes and welcome sleep. He couldn't rest despite his fatigue, his mind a whirlwind of questions and confusion, and to his horror he found that every doubt circled around _her_. 

He hated Buruma yet didn't, and this realization, made in the middle of the night, threw his thoughts into even more turmoil. Never before had the warrior had mixed feelings about someone. He'd either hated a person or hadn't, although most he'd encountered were unlucky enough to experience the former. This discovery had led Vejiita on a mental journey as he tried to find the reason Buruma was one of the few he didn't despise. It took quite some time before he saw that it was in fact the opposite. The reason he didn't despise Buruma was inexplicable; he just didn't, but the reason he _did_ loathe her was because of the fact that he didn't despise her. 

_How can you see into my eyes like open doors_ _  
Leading you down into my core_ _  
Where I've become so numb without a soul_ _  
My spirit's sleeping somewhere cold_ _  
Until you find it there and lead it back home_

This dawning was perhaps more confusing than the reason he had been unable to sleep in the first place: Buruma had done what was thought to be impossible. She had looked beyond the mask and penetrated the shell. Wondering how she had done it, and why she had bothered, had taken over Vejiita's mind so completely he had been oblivious to everything else that surrounded him physically. 

But only physically, because as Vejiita sat on his bed the whole night through, he became more and more aware of what was happening to him mentally, even if he didn't understand it. His mind was racing, pausing briefly at memories Vejiita had long since forgotten: His mother standing nearby, smiling as no other Saiya-jin did; his father helping him up from the floor when the training droids finally got the better of him; an older man Vejiita could no longer remember bringing the prince his very first suit of armour. And from the same long-forgotten memories, Vejiita pulled up the single word needed to describe what was going on. 

_(Wake me up)_ _  
Wake me up inside_ _  
(I can't wake up)_ _  
Wake me up inside_ _  
(Save me)_ _  
Call my name and save me from the dark_ _  
(Wake me up)_ _  
Bid my blood to run_ _  
(I can't wake up)_ _  
Before I come undone_ _  
(Save me)_ _  
Save me from the nothing I've become_

No! That wasn't right. How could he love when he barely understood the meaning of the word? And love Buruma, of all people? She was an annoying, obnoxious, stubborn, pig-headed know-it-all who thought her looks, wealth, and intelligence far surpassed that of anyone else's. She tended for Vejiita when he was wounded, prepared his meals or had her mother do so, designed and built numerous gravity rooms and training droids, and was convinced that there was some good somewhere in the prince's black heart. 

Vejiita realized that his heart must not be as emotionless and black as he had thought it to be. Not if he lov-- But he didn't love her! No, he didn't. He _didn't_. 

_Now that I know what I'm without_ _  
You can't just leave me_ _  
Breathe into me and make me real_ _  
Bring me to life_

Vejiita glanced up from his feet to the window and saw that the city had already finished with their morning rush. He then looked to the clock to check the time, and saw it smashed to pieces. He remembered a tad too late that he had destroyed it with his fist in his frustration when he saw six-thirty roll around. 

He stood and left the room. There was no point in sitting there any longer. He wasn't going to go to sleep now, and maybe he would forget everything, at least for a time, if he did something. Vejiita made his way down the long hall of the Capsule Corporation and down the three flights of stairs to the kitchen. And to his dread, Buruma sat alone at the breakfast table, sipping her coffee and reading a book. 

_(Wake me up)_ _  
Wake me up inside_ _  
(I can't wake up)_ _  
Wake me up inside_ _  
(Save me)_ _  
Call my name and save me from the dark_ _  
(Wake me up)_ _  
Bid my blood to run_ _  
(I can't wake up)_ _  
Before I come undone_ _  
(Save me)_ _  
Save me from the nothing I've become_

He couldn't face her now, not _now_ while he was still so bewildered and angry about what he had realized. For the first time since he could remember, Vejiita's first thought was to run, and he jumped on that idea. He was just beginning to back out of the kitchen when he saw Buruma put her book down on the table and look directly at him. 

"Good morning," she said with a warm smile. "You're up late. I was going to wake you to see if you wanted breakfast, but then thought it would be better if you slept." She paused then, and frowned slightly. "But it doesn't look like you got much sleep. Is something up?" 

"None of your business," Vejiita snapped in reply. There was no need for Buruma to know about anything that had happened the previous night. 

_Bring me to life_ _  
(I've been livin' a lie_ _  
There's nothing inside)_ _  
Bring me to life_

She smiled at him again, but this one was sad, almost sympathetic. "Something's bothering you, I can tell," she said. "I know that look. That's the look everyone has when they've been up all night thinking about something. Exhausted but alive at the same time, with a mix of confusion and dread at what they've discovered." She grinned at him, positive in her assessment. 

"You've put some thought into that description," Vejiita muttered as he leaned against the door frame. 

"Not really," Buruma replied, shrugging. "Someone said that to me. The only difference is I can't see any confusion or dread in your expression, but it's there. Am I right?" 

_Frozen inside without your touch_ _  
Without your love_ _  
Darling, only you are the life among the dead_

Vejiita glared at her. "I don't ask you all about your personal life and what you've been thinking about and what you spent your night doing." 

"No," Buruma admitted, "you don't. But I ask you." She took a swig of her coffee, draining the cup. "Now spill it." 

"Get me some food." 

"Are you going to tell me?" Buruma asked him, and Vejiita saw her blue eyes twinkle mischievously. 

"No!" 

"Then I'm not getting you any food." She leaned back in her chair and picked up her book. 

_All this time I can't believe I couldn't see_ _  
Kept in the dark but you were there in front of me_ _  
I've been sleeping a thousand years, it seems_ _  
Got to open my eyes to everything_ _  
Without a thought, without a voice, without a soul_

"Don't bribe me!" Vejiita shouted angrily. 

"What are you going to do about it?" Buruma questioned calmly, her face hidden behind the pages of her novel. "Are you going to blast me out of my chair? Send me to the next dimension, maybe?" 

Vejiita growled deep in his throat. She was taunting him, almost daring him to do it. And he would've called her bluff, had she been any other person. But he couldn't even raise a fist to her, despite how angry she made him. Instead he would take his anger out in the gravity room, which eventually resulted in the machine blowing up like a bomb. 

_Don't let me die here_ _  
There must be something more_ _  
Bring me to life_

"Listen," he snarled, and made his way over to the kitchen table. He leaned his hands on its surface and looked Buruma square in the eye as she lowered her book once more. "If I don't want to tell you something, that's _my_ business. You're not my freakin' shrink, I don't need to tell you things, and you're not my freakin' book thing, like the fluffy pink one you write in every night--" 

"A diary?" Buruma interrupted, an eyebrow raised. 

"Whatever, you're not that, and you don't need to know all my thoughts and secrets and shit." He paused then, wondering with alarm if perhaps he had said too much, if perhaps this would be an incentive for her to pry further and _learn_ his secrets and thoughts. 

_(Wake me up)_ _  
Wake me up inside_ _  
(I can't wake up)_ _  
Wake me up inside_ _  
(Save me)_ _  
Call my name and save me from the dark_ _  
(Wake me up)_ _  
Bid my blood to run_ _  
(I can't wake up)_ _  
Before I come undone_ _  
(Save me)_ _  
Save me from the nothing I've become_

But she didn't. Instead she nodded and said, "You're right. You're absolutely right. I wouldn't like it if you tried to force me to tell you everything." She smiled at him to show there were no hard-feelings. "I'm sorry. Would you like breakfast? Actually it would be more like brunch now..." She stood and made her way over to the cupboards, leaving Vejiita half-stunned as he sat down at the table. 

She'd never admitted her faults while arguing with him before, nor had she ever apologized for what she'd said or done. Vejiita felt like beating his head on the wall; everything was so mind-blowing. 

_Bring me to life_ _  
I've been living a lie_ _  
There's nothing inside_ _  
Bring me to life_

Although there was one thing that was clear in his mind now, even if he didn't want to admit it: He didn't know how he would be able to go on without Buruma now that he knew what it was like to be with her, even if she wasn't his to claim. It seemed to him that she had pulled him out of the cold misery that was his life and offered him a chance to start anew. She was bringing back his soul from the cold place it had resided for so many years, and she was unfreezing his heart. 

Vejiita hated her for it, yet couldn't because it was she who was bringing him back to life.


End file.
